Status Updates From Father Arseny

Reading these memoirs, one can't help but remember the many people
who suffered and died for the faith and for all of us.

When I was a child, my mother had taught me how to pray "for mama and for papa" and had wanted me to learn the "Our Father" and the prayer to the Mother of God. Later, I forgot everything and it became a long-forgotten memory, a little funny, a little sad.

The eyes of the Mother of God were so full of light-giving warmth that, looking at them, each person could find calm and consolation. The Mother of God looked at us with sad eyes, full of pity and warmth. It filled you with hope and you felt consoled. My faith was always weak and insig-nificant.

The eyes of the Mother of God looked at me from the icon. Her face was bent toward her child who pressed his cheek tightly against hers. In this embrace you could see the unbelievable love and desire of the Mother to protect her child, to warm him with her love, the love only a mother can give.

If only you knew what a human being she is! She is better than anyone else. She is even better than my mother and father. If only everyone could be such a believer." And unexpectedly she asked me,
"How about you, what do you think about God?"

"You know, I've read many atheistic books, but I have the distinct impression that they are unable to prove anything. They either try to discredit religion, or they argue with God, trying to prove to him that he does not exist ... My grandmother Katia believes unconditionally.

And as if she was answering herself she said, "Yes, much is written, but nobody has yet been able to prove that God does not exist." Addressing me, she continued.

In my own life, I was given the opportunity in several situations to choose the way I was going to go. Twice, if I remember correctly, I turned away from the path of Truth that was put before me, but God was merciful to me, and he helped me again and again to turn to faith. Thanks to his mercy, I became a believer, a Christian, and later a priest.

We have free choice either to approach or to move away. In surrounding man with chains of events, it seems that God is trying to help the undecided person to come to him. It is entirely our own fault if we push away our own salvation.

IN AN ANCIENT patristics book, I read that the Fathers once said that God gives each person a chance to look back on his life, to see its mean-ing, and decide what his relationship is with God—he can then take a step towards God or push himself away from him. In the course of our life, many events give us a chance to meet God and to draw nearer to him.

Like a journalist always writing stuff down page 155

"So, our Pops is a commie," said someone. "You should be squashed for a sermon like that. You pretend to be saintly, but actually you are a double-crosser, you are spreading propaganda. You must be working for the authorities." And he rudely pushed Father Arseny out of the circle of arguers.
The argument continued as heatedly as ever, but several people began to leave the group.

And from there comes the rest: our camp, our sufferings, the wrongful deaths of innocent people. But I will tell you in all sincerity: whatever happens in my country, I am its citizen. As a priest I always told my spiritual children that it is our responsibility to defend and support our fatherland. What is happening now must end: it is a huge mistake that will sooner or later be corrected."

"Understanding all of this, I cannot point a finger at our authorities, because the seeds of faithlessness fell on the soil that we ourselves had prepared.

"We did not raise our people right; we did not give them the basis of strong faith. Remember all this! Remember! This is why the people were so quick to forget all of us, their own priests; they mainly forgot their faith and participated in the destruction of churches, sometimes even leading the way in their destruction.

«From among all the monasteries of our land, only five or six were real beacons of Christianity. Valaam Monastery, Optina Pustin with its great startsy, Diveyevsky Convent, and also the Monastery of Sarov. Others became communities with almost no faith in them.
"What could the people learn from such monasteries? What kind of
an example was set?

"Children of priests became atheists and revolutionaries simply because they had seen in their families lies and a lack of true faith. Long before the revolution priests had already lost the real right to be the shepherds of their people, of their conscience. Priesthood became a profession. Many priests were atheists and alcoholics.

"Let us remember the bad examples set by the intelligentsia, the nobil-icy, the merchants, and the civil servants. We in the priesthood were bite worst of them all.